This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from an application entitled A Method Of Controlling The Management Of The Activity Of Facsimile Having No Backup Battery earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Dec. 27, 1996, and there duly assigned Serial No. 74198/1996 by that Office.
The present invention relates to a method of controlling the management of the facsimile activity of in a multifunctional machine, and particularly to a method of controlling the management of the activity of a facsimile having no backup battery capable of controlling the transmitting and receiving facsimile activity with a nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) without using a static RAM or a backup battery.
Conventionally, a multifunctional machine is a device which integrates each unit such as a facsimile, a scanner, a printer, a copying machine, etc. in a single body to have multiple functions related to a computer. Accordingly, the multifunctional machine can have new functions which may not be performed if each unit was a stand-alone unit. The multifunctional machine adopts IEEE 1284 as a connection type capable of performing bidirectional communication for interfacing with the computer.
The facsimile system of the multifunctional machine scans the image of the document and transmits the image through a telephone line. After that, the image data received by the telephone line is printed. In addition to the functions of transmitting and receiving the image data and copying the image data of the document, the facsimile system of the multifunctional machine controls the management of the activity of the facsimile using a static random access memory (RAM), a nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) and a backup battery.
However, the price of the product increases, as the conventional facsimile system uses a static RAM for storing the activity items of the facsimile for controlling the management of the activity of facsimile; the backup battery for preventing the loss of the data stored in the static RAM in the case of power failure; and the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) for storing the activity item data of the static RAM supposing that the power failure happens after cancellation of the power failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,318 for an Image Information Communication Apparatus With Power Interruption Report Generation to Takaoka discloses a facsimile machine that uses non-volatile memory to print out a report upon a power failure. The report in Takaoka includes the date and time, a message representing the time when the power supply is turned off, and file management information related to the files containing image information. I have noticed that the non-volatile random access memory in Takaoka requires a battery backup to achieve this end.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the management of the activity of facsimile transmission/receipt with a nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) without using a static RAM or a backup battery.
It is another object reduce the production cost and enhance the productivity by removing a backup battery and a static RAM from a facsimile system.
According to the present invention, during when an image data of a document is transmitted or received via facsimile, all the activity items of the facsimile are recorded in a nonvolatile RAM. A power failure is recorded in a result item of the activity items and normal contents are recorded in the other activity items. Whenever either the facsimile transmission or reception of the image data in each page is completed, the items of a page and a communication time are corrected and then recorded. After that, when the transmission or reception of the image data of the document is completed, the power failure which is recorded in the result item is corrected to a normal end.
Moreover, in the case that a power failure happens during the image data of the transmission or reception of the document a record is maintained of the power failure, and the information of the page whose data is transmitted or received prior to the power failure is recorded in the remaining activity items.
The remaining activity items includes a telephone number, a transmission or reception mode, a time, a transmission reception page, a communication time, etc.